Summary

Far Cry 2 may be a sequel only in name, but it is still a fun action game.

The Good

Far Cry 2 has nothing to do with Far Cry 1. This alone is a bit of a disappointment, but if you can ignore that and call it something else, like "Blood Diamond: The Game" or "Burn Down Africa," or if you really want to be simple "Jackal hunt," you'll find a compelling action game.

The first thing you'll notice once FC2 starts up are the amazing visuals. The game looks absolutely incredible, better than anything currently on the PC. Plus it helps that the engine here is 10,000 times better coded than CrySis (Before you flame me: CrySis is a great game, but the engine is terribly programmed with no optimization) so that my 5 year old computer can run it on a high quality with a great frame rate. Everything from the shadows to treetop canopies and of course flames licking every square inch of burnable terrain.

The game itself is sort of like a mixture of Grand Theft Auto minus the large immersive city, and Fallout 3 minus the role playing. It is a sandbox first person shooter with great car controls, and an immersive jungle environment. It can be a little monotonous sometimes, but at others, it is great fun to explore the jungle. Firefights are intense and fun. The missions are good, but they can be repetitive, and side missions aren't that fun.

The AI is surprisingly smart for a game like this. Many firefights play out like cat and mouse chases.

The multiplayer, while standard for the genre, is extremely well executed and fun.

The Bad

Although the guns sound alright, the music is somewhat droning and the voice acting is awful.

Repetition is relatively common in this game, while it can be fun in short bursts I wouldn't recommend long periods of time.

The bus system isn't too helpful, it only takes you to the four corners of the map. It would've been nicer to have more bus stops so that if you are trying to get to a target in a hurry that isn't right next to the corner you go to you wouldn't have to walk so far.

The story is confusing, muddled, and meaningless. It had a lot of potential, but the game didn't tap into it.

The gun jamming happens too easily, which makes it annoying. Although sometimes it can help the immersion and make firefights more intense, more often than not its frustrating if anything.

The Bottom Line

FC2 is a fun sandbox shooter. Its not for everyone, and some may be off put by the fact that it is not a true sequel to the first and best game in the series. While it can be repetitive, it can also be very fun, and it is very easy on the eyes, and blowing stuff up and shooting the guns is fun. The immersive world is great as well.